I came across this video and I love it. At first I thought it was going to be something silly, but then it got a lot better with the results and it's actually really clever. I think it sums up quite neatly the way that people try to express an identity online and how pictures people have up of themselves, for example on facebook or myspace, can be very decieving.

Video to one side, this is infact a very serious issue and there have been many cases where people have been decieved by pictures leading to devistating consiquences. One recent case involved Peter Chapman, a British convicted murderer who has featured heavily in the media in the United Kingdom. He has become known as the "Facebook killer." He was jailed for a minimum of 35 years in March 2010 and his crime has led to serious criticism of police monitoring and Facebook.

Chapman used a fake Facebook profile, using a display picture of a very goodlooking young male in order to befriend Ashleigh Hall, a 17-year-old college student from Darlington. In reality, he was a 33-year old man living in his car. She met him on the 25 October and according to the prosecution, "When she met him on 25 October last year, he kidnapped, raped and murdered her."

Like the mother says in this video.."You just don't know who's behind that photo"

Yesterday watched the film Paranormal Activity 2 a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry. The film is a parallel prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film.


After experiencing what they think are a series of "break-ins", a family sets up security cameras around their home, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more sinister than they seem.


The people behind PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 clearly learned a lesson from the debacle of BLAIR WITCH 2: BOOK OF SHADOWS; they’ve hewed scrupulously close to the original film in style and tone. The result is probably the best true sequel that could have been made to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, without avoiding the pitfalls that come with creating a close-but-not-too-close approximation of a singular success. Paranormal Activity 2 follows the "bigger and more" ethos of sequels, while sticking to the ground rules laid down by the first surprise hit of a film. Of course "bigger and more" is a relative term. Here we get a slightly bigger home to be confined in and more people: two parents, a teenage daughter, a maid, an infant and a dog. The latter two make good use of the rather spooky thing that babies and pets do when their attention is fixed on something invisible to others. More cameras too: instead of the one image of the bedroom we get to cycle through six static security cameras (brought in by the family when they return to find their furniture and belongings in disarray, seemingly following a burglary, although nothing was taken). These changes aren't enough to distort or taint the basic premise.


I have to say that this film really did scare me, I spent half my time hidden behind a pillow as the suspense and dramatic tension was just too much to handle. The thing that always makes a film scarier is when it looks like it is real life, the dialogue doesn't sound scripted and because the actors are not famous (have just been in the paranormal films) it just adds to the realism. The jumpiest bit of the film was when all the kitchen cupboard doors and draws suddenly flew open causing a massive unexpected sound of crashing and banging. Everyone in the room with me screamed and carried on screaming!


I think the fact that they used a baby really added to the disturbing nature of the film as the child just seemed too innocent to be surrounded by such awful events. I particularly didn't like the bit when the baby gets dragged out of the bed, I found that really disturbing, but it definitely added to the genre of horror.


It was good horror film which didn't take anything away from the first Paranormal Activity. Apart from being terrified i did actually really enjoy it.

People's idea on 'what is beautiful' really is distorted, and in my opinion it's because of the media, for example in magazines every single woman is perfect, immaculate skin, slim, have perfectly straight noses, and are perfectly made up. It puts a lot of pressure on everyone on how a person is suppose to look and it can effect people in many ways including causing anorexia as girls especially feel they should be thin like all the models they see in news papers, on posters, in magazines and on the Internet. Nothing is real any more nearly everything is edited. Here is a video I found on YouTube which shows the process in which models undergo before their photograph is put out for the public to see.



Here is another video which I know is also very popular on You Tube ...

Recently I've been revising for my media exam which is coming up very soon. I started looking at Pete's blog, an examiner to see if i can get any tips or important info, and found some really interesting stuff on representation of young people. This is some of what I found.

Here are some quotations people have said about young people

"Kids are out of control... They're roaming the streets. They're out late at night."

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

The language that the second one uses is much older, but it surprised everyone to find out just how old. The first was from Gordon Brown in 2008 and the second from Plato in the 4th century BC. So as we can see, complaining about the behaviour of young people is nothing new!

Here's a quite a disturbing video, from a Barnardo's campaign, all dialogue coming from what adults had written on national newspaper websites in response to stories about teenagers.

Love this advert at the moment, think it's a really good idea, it's something a little bit different where people can actually relate to what is being said..my favourite comment is when the guy says 'so many shoes..what are you a centipede?', it's definitely the kind of thing my dad would say to me. I know that it must have started up tons of debates in every household for people who has seen the advert. I think adverts like this are the best kind of advertisement as the little funny jokes stand out in people minds meaning that they'll remember what is being advertised, in this case IKEA. I hate adverts when what they are showing barely relates to what they are advertising, I think this idea of 'who's messier men or women' is a great idea that clearly shows us that it is advertising storage. Oh and also the fact that men are messier!

My favourite advert at the moment is the underwater advert of Katie Price, not because it's her but just simply because I love the underwater shots with her long mermaid-like hair, the flowing pastel coloured material and sparkly bubbles. It would be amazing if we had the equipment to get underwater footage as it would definitely help to add that professional quality we have worked so hard to produce in our film opening.

Lat night we went to the cinema and watched 'The Rite' an American supernatural horror film based on the making of a modern exorcist. It was directed by Mikael Håfström and written by Matt Baglio and Michael Petroni. It stars Anthony Hopkins as Father Lucas and Colin O'Donoghue as Michael Kovak.


Brief background of film...
The film is based on the book The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Rome-based Matt Baglio, which was published in 2009. To research the book, Baglio participated in a seminar on exorcism where he met Father Gary Thomas, a parish priest from California, who was tasked by the local bishop in San Jose, California to become an exorcist for the diocese. Initially skeptical and reluctant, Father Gary becomes an "apprentice" to a Rome-based exorcist and his skepticism is soon replaced by the cold reality of evil and the ways it sometimes takes the form of demonic possession.


My opinion...
I liked the film, although it was quite disturbing. The whole idea of the unknown really does scare me. It was also very jumpy in places particularly when the possessed priest whacks the little girl around the face and also when the devil hand starts strangling Kovak. At this point me and Valentina literally lept out of our chairs. Makes me laugh so much every time I think about out it!


The echoed, whispered sounds used definitely added to the jumpiness of the film. The scariest bits however were when it was silent as you just know that something scary is about to happen.


The first thing I noticed about the film was the camera work. The compositions were quite interesting. The camera’s perspective peaks from around corners and from behind fences which creates a mysterious, edgy feel to it adding to the genre of horror. I also noticed how detailed and intricate the make-up designs were especially towards the end of the film used on Hopkins. The dark blue veins and intense wrinkles really gave him that possessed, demonic look.

In the film after Father Lucas shows Michael his first case of possession, he remarks to the boy, “What did you expect? Spinning heads and pea-soup?” It seemed like a reminder that it wasn't like every other exorcism movie. However when the possessions started we saw nearly every single cliche of the genre. The possessed girl uses her sexuality to try and shame the priests. She plays on their secrets and insecurities (a very good actress might I add), they use electronically lowered voices, muttering blasphemies, blank contact lenses and blotting out eyes, sinister prophecies coming true, the vomiting up of odd objects etc. It all sounds quite familiar but I guess exorcism movies wouldn't be the same without it all, although I did think that red eyed horse was quite naff. 

                                

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings is the television hit of the year. But is it going to harm the community it portrays?

Remember a few years back when Eastenders ran an advertising campaign with the strapline 'Everyone's talking about it'? At the time, everybody was, or so it seemed. These days, British viewers have turned their attentions elswhere and it seems like you just can't escape people talking about Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

The five part series is drawing in over seven million viewers with each episode, making it one of the channel's most-watched shows ever. And people aren't just watching - they're discussing it on Twitter and setting up Facebook groups. Newspaper columnists are talking about it. I've heard people telling their friends that's it's the ultimate television highlight of their week.

So why the obsession? The series grew out of the 2010 documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, which focused on the weddings of three young women from traveller families. It was the sort of programme that gets described as 'car crash TV' and millions couldn't help but tune in for a glimpse inside the notoriously secretive traveller community, where marriages generally happen between teenagers and traditional gender roles are very strictly observed. With the return of the show as a series, viewers have kept going back for more - with mixed reactions.

Predictably, there's been a lot of snobbery, racism and ridicule. The gypsy and traveller communities are the subject of much prejudice, talk of 'pikeys' and 'gypos' and jokes about their culture are common.
In 21st century British culture, where plenty of people practically consider 'chav bashing' their right, it's easy to laugh atwedding dresses which weigh as much as a fully-grown man, six-year-olds getting spray tans and sixteen-year-old brides discussing the decor in their new caravans. And it's hardly going to change the way travellers are often treated by society.
Unsurpringly it's brought anger from travellers and the organisations which work with them, many of which feel the show nothing more than 'sensationalism' - an unfair and inaccurate portrayal of a culture which is marginalised enough in the first place. They have said that the unbelievably over-the-top weddings and apparently violent courtship practices are far from widespread and that only a small minority of travelling people live their lives this way. They're not happy with the way the tabloids have covered the series either.

The show's producers have reiterated that the people featured in the series have been happy with the way they have been portrayed, but the debate rages on.

A major area of concern for viewers has been the way traveller culture impacts the lives of women - even, it has to be said, people who aren't usually bothered by gender issues. Sexism may still be alive and well but to most, gender equality isn't a totally alien concept.

Watching these young women who have left school at 11 or 12, who are extremely restricted by gender roles and who freely admit that 'it's a man's world' has been really uncomfortable for a lot of people - just as much as seeing young men laugh at the idea of a woman having a job or saying that they think the custom of unmarried women not being allowed to drink alcohol or go out alone is completely 'fair'.

This is certainly heightened by the other facts we know about travelling communities. That the women within them are considered some of the most marginalised women in the country. That, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, up to 81% of them have experienced domestic abuse. When you add this to low life expectancy, alcohol and drug abuse on the rise, lack of access to support services, prejudice from the general public and the stigma of admitting to being abused, the picture doesn't look too rosy.

It certainly doesn't show those who are quick to mock travellers' lives in a particularly good light, even if it is 'just a laugh' as far as they're concerned. Their remarks about gypsies and travellers in general have shown that there's a lot of venom reserved for them, no matter what sort of lives they lead.

Agencies and organisations are working with travellers to support them and help combat prejudice, but I wonder whether Big Fat Gypsy Weddings is going to mean they're subject to even worse treatment from the public - and how much 'concern' will remain once the series is over.

Last night I watched death at a funeral a 2007 British comedy film directed by Frank Oz. The story line focuses on a family attempting to resolve a variety of problems while attending the funeral of the patriarch. It is honestly my favourite film of all time! It is so funny, I've watched it 5 times now!



They recently made a 2010 American version of the film but it is no comparision to the 2007 one. I personally thought there was no point making an exact copy of the film especially considering it wasn't even as good.

My favourite character was Simon played by Alan Tudyk. He is such a funny actor. In the film, hoping to calm Simon's nerves his girlfriend gives him what she believes is Valium but actually is a designer hallucinogenic drug manufactured by her brother Troy.

Here are some of the momentsin the film that made us all laugh...







This one is quite discusting but I thought it was really funny!

Last night I watched East is East, one of my all time favourite films. East Is East is a 1999 British comedy-drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1971. George Khan (played by Om Puri), the father, expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani ways, but his children who were born and have grown up in Britain increasingly see themselves as British and reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion, and living in general.



It's so funny had us all in stitches.

I noticed some interesting use of shots to add to the genre of comedy, for example the point of view shot when Saj is looking out from his hood which, he never takes off ("that bleedin parker"). They must have put a fluffy trimming around the camera to make it look as though the camera is Saj and is seeing what he see's. It stood out to me as it is the only point of view shot footage they used in the film, and I really liked it. Simple but funny.

The mise-en-scene used throughout the film shows the that they are in fact not a particularly well off family. For example the small tin tub they use a bath and the buckets they use as toilets. Also at one point the camera zooms in to a small plate of biscuits that the mother has put on the table, whilst calling her 5 adult children to come down for breakfast, again adding to to the comedy genre. There is great contrast shown between the two different cultures. The father George (who carries a strong Pakistani accent with a hint of Manchester) insists on buying his sons traditional Pakistani clothing, and when this side of the culture is shown there are lots of bright festive colours in their costume and traditional Pakistani music (non diegetic) played.

The parents both have a very strong vision of themselves. The father, George, wants his children to be accepted by the Muslim community and live by its rules and customs. Ella, has agreed to this on her marriage but is still herself a Catholic and has influenced her children with her ideas. In contrast to the Pakistani culture the British culture is also shown throughout the film. Ironically George owns a fish and chip shop called 'The English Chippy'. Perhaps you would expect him to own a Pakistani restaurant with his strong views and passion for his religion.

The certificate of the film is 15 and this is likely due to some nudity and mostly the strong language, mainly coming from the father George, "bastard bitch", "bloody fucking idiot" etc. However because the swearing is used all through the film it becomes part of their general use of language and so we get used to it. It's just funny and used in a light hearted way.

Last night I watched BBC Three's supernatural Being Human. Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and broadcast on BBC Three. It stars Aidan Turner as Mitchell, a vampire; Russell Tovey as George, a werewolf; and Lenora Crichlow as Annie, a ghost who are all trying to live a normal life. The first two series were set in in Totterdown, Bristol; during the show's third series, Sinead Keenan became part of the main cast, and the series relocated to Barry Island, Wales. The series is one of the most popular shows on BBC’s iPlayer.

Here is some behind the scenes's footage of last nights episode...

"McNair... you'll be needing this."
With these words the stake was passed over and the wheels of vengeance were set in motion. A fight to the death was on the cards and McNair was determined to deal the final blow.
On set the mood was charged with adrenaline. Dozens of actors, two camera crews and a vast abandoned swimming pool were combined to create one of the finest scenes in Being Human history. We got stuck in behind the scenes to see how it all happened, and somehow managed to avoid McNair's stake, Mitchell's fists and Annie's baseball bat in the process.
Episode four has passed and the truth about The Pack has been revealed. But already dark clouds are gathering and the return of Herrick is imminent...

With the clip above its amazing to see how much effort, time and money goes into one small scene in the episode. They obviously have to repeat the scene a number of times in order to get some really good shots. I love it! Its pretty much a combination of everything you want to see in a tv series. Its a mixture of genres including horror, comedy, thriller, romance etc, literally a bit of everything.

Here are some screenshots and google images from some of the episodes..

Obviously the makeup department must take a lot of time to create such intricate, realistic detail like in the photograph above. Much research must have gone into how a burnt, scarred, rotting corpse looks. It's also fasinating looking at how they make the characters slowly transform into warewolves and how the combination of graphics and stage make-up can produce a very scary, grusome yet successful look. 

The appearance of the famous star Lacey Turner attracted hundreds more viewers. I loved her cheekiness and her well, not so 'Stacey Slater' from eastenders attitude. She definately pulled off the character well, she is actually a very talented actress and didnt let the hight standards of Being Human down.

Debates about representation



So why the fuss? soaps are known for their high emotions. Well, for viewers who have lost a baby to cot death, such a storyline not surprisingly brings back painful memories, however people are saying that it is the case with many of the narratives in other programmes like Coronation street and Emmerdale. In this case the objection was not to having a storyline about cot death but instead how the character of Ronnie was portrayed.

People argue:

“as is all too common, a bereaved mother has been portrayed as deranged and unhinged... For many, EastEnders might be their first or closest experience of a newly bereaved mother's reaction and subsequently they may treat baby snatching as a typical desire”

So in other words they are putting idea's into people's heads.

Personally I do think it is a really sensitive issue and Eastenders have kind of lost it a bit. Realistically how much bad luck could happen on one square and in fact to one person. Ronnie has been rapped by her father, left alone as a child by her mother, watched her child who she believed was dead die, her husband was shot in the head, she was stabbed in the back by her brother who actually turned out to not be her brother, and now when she is finally blessed with some good luck they decide to kill off her only child and add the twisted storyline of her swapping it with another baby. Of course the producers need to entertain viewers and come up with new exciting story lines, but using something so sensitive for entertainment seems to cross the line a bit. I know that you could say that for all the other tragic story lines they've used but I'm sure they've received complaints about those too, it just seems people have been extremely effected by this one in particular.Well I guess that's just my opinion. I know it's just a storyline and eastenders is just a soap which I've watched for years, but it's not the kind of storyline me and my family find entertaining, it's just too depressing and I can understand the point of view seen by viewers who have lost a baby.

Yesturday night I watched Shelock Holmes. I've been wanting to see it for ages now. It was so cleverly made and I spotted loads of really good shots, sadly far too sophisticated for us to try and use. A shot that really stood out was when Holmes was being chased down the street by the bad giant man. The camera is placed up quite high (birdseye view) and the shot begins with the camera shooting upside down. As they run down the street the camera follows them as they pass underneath it, eventually turning itself the right way up. It then continued to film them running further away from the camera. Another main thing that stood out to me was the location of the sewer. They were able to capture some amazing shots because of it, I loved it. Also when Holmes jumps out the window of palament into the river, I thought the framing of that shot was stunning, however I couldnt help but laugh, as Holmes looked really tiny from such a far distance.

Here's the trailer for the film, you might be able to spot some of the shots which I was talking about..



Here are some of the other shots that I also really liked.

Shot from underneath, making Holmes look bigger, stronger and perhaps more intimadting.

Even though Blackwood is behind the bars he seems a lot more in control and here Holmes looks perhaps weaker and more vulnerable. Of course we know that Holmes knows exactly what Blackwood is up to, perhaps he is covering this up which is why he is appearing to be weak infront of him.

I thought this was a very clever well thought out shot as it almost represents her character. She has two different sides to her, her good, caring side and her tough bad side.

This shot must have been done using graphics, however it is still a really amazing shot, it is just as effective and does look realistic.

This shot has been cross focused. The camera focuses on Holmes but still has the other fighter in shot. The effect almost seperates his character from the rest of the world whilst he is thinking of what injuries to inflict on his apponent. During this section the footage has been slowed down showing us the fight in 'slow motion'. This creates more impact for when he attacks the other fighter. It was infact a really effective clever idea.

Lately this has been my all time favourite advert, it's just so funny, I love the lyrics especially, and just the whole idea of the snowman flying threw the sky. Everytime it comes on I make everyone be quiet just so I can watch it and hear the song! I love it. It sounds silly but I think it's worked really well advertising the drink, I know a lot of people who have bought an Irn Bru just because of this advert..."I'm falling through the air... I wonder where i'm going to land... He nicked my irn brew and let go of my hand..." It's Brilliant!

Seen as it's Christmas Eve me and my family have pretty much spent the day watching films and eating lots of food! Its tradition for us every year to watch The Grinch, definitely one of my favourite films.

It's directed by Ron Howard, produced by Howard and Brian Grazer, and starring Jim Carrey, it is the first Dr. Seuss story made into a feature film. DreamWorks Pictures was originally planning to co-produce the film, but dropped out at the last minute. The Grinch is the highest-grossing Christmas film of all-time with $345,141,403 worldwide.


The film is based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Who's, an almost mutated sort of munchkin like people. All the Who's love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch.


It really is a beautiful film, funny and entertaining. I especially love Jim Carrey who plays the Grinch, he is one of my favourite actors, I just find him hilarious. I think the film in general really highlights the importance of Christmas, as it sends out a lovely message to everyone that Christmas is not about presents and lights and all the materialistic things, but its about love with friends and family and being grateful for the things that we do have. Definitely adds to the Christmas spirit.

Seen as it's coming up to Christmas there has been lots of Christmas films being shown on TV and one I saw recently saw was 'Elf'. It's a 2003 comedy film directed by Jon Favreau, written by David Berenbaum and starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, and Zooey Deschanel. It was released in the United States on November 7, 2003 and grossed over $220,400,000 worldwide.

The story is about...
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. It's a funny, bright, cheerful Christmas film that definitely captures the Christmas spirit. Me and my family find our selves watching it every year, we love it.

I recently watched Toy Story 3. I have just three words to say...I LOVED IT!



The film speaks for itself, its funny (spanish buzz), adorable (the little girl Molly who takes care of Andy's toys), scary (the monkey which freaked me out!) and sad at times especially the ending.I think that although it is an animated film it still appeals to a wide range of people however it is likey that it is aimed at a younger audience of both male and female. It ended the three part series of Toy Story perfectly and I am so glad that it met the standard of the first two Toy Story films. It was brilliant!

I recently went to the cinema and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a 2010/2011 two-part epic fantasy film directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is produced by Rowling along with David Heyman and David Barron. The two parts form the seventh and final instalment in the Harry Potter film series, with the story following Harry Potter on a quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's secret to immortality – the Horcruxes. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe in his final performance as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film also features Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman.

I continue to be impressed with the maturing changes in the story, characters and look of the films. My hope is that the last in the series will bring the battle between Harry and Voldemort that fans have been waiting nearly a decade to see. If the tone stays as dark as the last few films and the directing stays as interesting in the film to come, then I’ll be plenty entertained regardless. I really loved all the enchanted looking locations they shot at, it really helped to capture that sense of adventure and magic. Also they had some amazing special effects and very clever ideas, for example when all the characters changed into Harry Potter yet all remained in the scene at the same time. There were however a couple of things that I thought perhaps slightly ruined the film, for example Ron's hallucination of Harry kissing Hermione. The fact that they were naked and were sprayed silver seemed to take away that childlike innocence the film has always in the past portrayed. Another thing I didn't like was when the little cheery creature of Dobby was killed, it was very sad and I think that it wasn't particularly needed, it seemed like they just wanted to rid of his character and therefore killed him off. I think it's a real shame, he was my favourite character.

Other than that however i did really enjoy the film and am looking forward to seeing the very last Harry Potter film.

Close proximity between the characters showing a close relationship between them, there seems to be a lot of chemistry between with the two characters.

I really loved this camera shot, it managed to capture the importance of the water yet still show the expression of his face. It was a clever, symbolic way of showing that Harry and the water are connected.

I thought this seen was so funny and really cleverly edited. It definitely stands as one of my favourite scenes.

Again amazing editing, it really captured that sense of enchantment as the little creatures looked very realistic.

Cannot wait to see what becomes of the two main characters in the next and last release of the film!

In today's lesson we watched the film Se7en, a crime, drama, mystery  and thriller, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. The film stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey.

I thought the film was very cleverly written and I really enjoyed watching it despite the fact that I get scared really easily. As a class we decided that we thought it was much better that the film didn't show much violence or gore, for example at the end it doesn't show the woman's head in the box. There have been debates as to whether this is a good thing or not, however we seemed to have more respect for the film because of this. We felt that there was no need for it, it seemed to have much more effect by keeping us, as viewers, in suspense. We discussed how people's interests in a particular genre always changes. This year it seems that people are more into comedies rather than thriller's or horror's which seemed to be more popular last year.

Watching the film seemed to be inspiration for us despite our genre being completely different. I found myself really looking at the camera angles and different shots. I particularly liked the scene where the officers eventually find where the killer lives and they see him with his groceries at the end of the corridor. The long shot of him down the corridor was really effective as when he pulls out the gun and shoots, it looks as though he is shooting at us, it certainly made me jump!

I also really liked the use of non-diegetic sound- the music. It created a very intense atmosphere especially when the music builds up, you automatically expect something scary or jumpy to happen.

Overall I really liked watching the film, particularly because it starred two of my favourite actors, Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Although the ending was really sad and quite disturbing I still thought it was a clever twist, it wasn't one of those annoying endings that has no conclusion or an anticlimax, it was written really well. I feel as though it will help me and my group with creating our film opening especially with the editing process.

Here are some pictures from the film, some more gory than others.

  

I thought that it was quite symbolic having the barrier in front of both the killers face and also sometimes in front of Brad Pitt's. However the barrier was never shown on Morgan Freeman's face. Perhaps this was done to show that the killer and brad pit will have more of a connection further on the film, which they did.

Here is the film opening of Silent Hill a 2006 horror film, directed by Christophe Gans.



Here are some screen shots from the video clip above in order to show some examples of different camera shots, movements and angles:

This camera shot is at a low angle and from the video clip above you can see that at this point the camera slowly pans from the left of the room to the right. This creates an uneasy atmosphere as suddenly the viewer is made to feel very small and perhaps intimidated by the room which has been made to look larger.

Here is an example of an extreme close up. The camera is still, allowing the viewer to read the words (likely to be important to the plot of the film). The words suggest murder which is appropriate to the genre of the film, the viewer here is perhaps made to feel like a detective, trying to solve the mystery. This draws the viewer in, already making them feel involved.

In this shot there seems to be a sephia effect, perhaps to create the feel that it is an old photograph, maybe a clue in solving the mystery.

This is a wide shot sometimes known as a long shot. It shows an entire area perhaps again giving the viewer clues as to what may happen later on in the film.

This is another example of an extreme close up (a much tighter close up in which you can see more detail) and the camera is also at eye level. At this point in the film it seems to look like an old video clip from the past and the editors have done this by giving it a flickering effect (you may be able to see some of the flickering black lines in the screen shot).

This is a two shot however it is also selective focus as the woman in the background is blurry whilst the young girl infront is in focus. This seems to seperate the characters and create a shallow depth field.

This is a wide shot with a black and white effect. Not much of the opening is in black and white so this particular shot stands out to the viewer. The camera movement slowly pans from left to right to give the viewer a better look on the area perhaps because it is significant later on in the film.

Here is a power point presentation analysing the film opening of Jaws. It will hopefully help guide me for when I have to analyse in this way

Jaws Shot By Shot - Part 1

View more presentations from Rob McMinn.